Friday, October 26, 2012

TAHINI HUMMUS




I spell it hummus, you might spell it houmous. 
Some spell it humous, just don’t spell it humus. 
Hummus…houmous. 
Humous…humus. 
Just spell it how you like! (except humus, cuz in English humus essentially means dirt)

Hummus is a dip that is traditionally made of chick peas, tahini (ground sesame seeds), lemon and garlic.  Some say hummus originated in Turkey, and some say originated in Lebanon.  No matter where it originated, all of the Middle Eastern countries have adopted hummus into their own cuisine cuz it’s just so darned yummy; they should have called hummus, yummus!  (Sorry.  Cheesy, I know; I couldn’t help myself.)

This is a very traditional recipe. I had the wherewithal to soak my dried chick peas the night before.  I actually made this on the same day that I made Slow Cooker Winter Vegetable Stew, Vegan or with Chicken.  I used chick peas in both dishes, I’m efficient like that!  Dried chick peas give a better texture and almost nutty flavor that you can’t get from a can of beans.  I’m not opposed to canned beans, I use them most of the time because I’m not much of a planner; just not for this particular recipe (I will do a version with canned beans one day). 

I wanted the tahini to be the star of this recipe, so I scaled back on the garlic.  If you’re not sure that you like tahini, then start with only 2 tablespoons of tahini, you can always add more.  If you loooove garlic, then add more garlic; don’t be shy!  And if you are enamored with lemon, then grate in the lemon zest as well as using the juice.

I made Tahini Hummus for Billy to snack on while he watched the game.  He declared that “This hummus is way better than store bought.”  Well honey, that’s because I made it with love…and dried chickpeas.

Here’s how you make it.

 

The night before; first rinse the dried chick peas, and sort through them to check for stones.  Ya don’t wanna break a tooth.
 
Then put the dried chick peas into a bowl.  Cover the beans with a little bit more than twice as much water.



 




The chick peas will double in size.








After the chick peas have soaked overnight, drain the water from them.  

 


Add the chick peas to a 4 quart sauce pan along with 3 cloves of garlic and a bay leaf.  

Cover with water; I like to have the water come up about 3 inches over the beans.
 




Bring the pan to a boil, cover the pan partially with the lid and turn the heat down to simmer the chick peas for about an hour.  Taste a chick pea to see if they’re done, if the chick pea feels kinda sandy on your teeth, then cook them for a while longer.

 



Drain the water from the cooked chick peas.  Discard the bay leaf. 
Reserve about a 1/3 of a cup of the cooking liquid.
 










Add the chick peas to the bowl of a food processor.  Chop the remaining clove of garlic and add that to the bowl with…







 





… The juice of a lemon…







 





… Tahini paste, salt, and a couple of table spoons of the cooking liquid.








 



Blitz until smooth, add more cooking liquid until you like the consistency.  

I added 5 tablespoons of cooking liquid because I don’t like my hummus super thick.





In the past; when I didn't have a food processor, I used a hand held (stick) blender to blend the hummus.  I think that hummus is too thick to make in a regular blender.

 



I make a moat in the hummus, and flood the moat with extra virgin olive oil.








This is great to make for a party, because Tahini Hummus can be made days in advance.  It can be stored in the refrigerator and brought up to room temperature to serve. 

Tahini Hummus has lemon juice which is citric acid.  Citric acid is a preservative so the hummus will keep easily, for about a week in the refrigerator.

 



Left over Tahini Hummus makes great sandwiches!








Makes about 2 cups

¾             cup         Dried chick peas (aka garbanzo beans)
4             cloves     Garlic, peeled; divided
1                            Bay leaf 

1                            Lemon, juice of
3              Tbsp.     Tahini paste
¼             cup         Extra Virgin olive oil
¾             tsp.         Salt


1.        Rinse the chick peas, and sort through them to check for stones.
2.       In a medium bowl; soak the chick peas overnight in water.  The beans will double in size, so you need a little more than twice as much water to chick peas.
3.       The next day, drain the soaked chick peas and add them to a 4 quart sauce pan, along with 3 cloves of the garlic and the bay leaf; cover with water.  The water should be a couple of inches higher in the pan than the chick peas. 
4.       Bring the water up to a boil, then partially cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down to simmer the chick peas for about an hour.  Chick peas stay pretty firm even when they are cooked, so taste them to see if they’re done.  If the chick pea feels sandy on your teeth, cook them a while longer.
5.       Drain the cooked chick peas, but reserve about a 1/3 of a cup of the cooking liquid.  Discard the bay leaf.
6.       Add the drained, cooked chick peas to the bowl of a food processor.  Chop the remaining clove of garlic and add that to the food processor along with, the juice of a lemon, the tahini paste, olive oil, salt and a couple of tablespoons of the cooking liquid.  Puree until smooth; add more of the cooking liquid until the hummus is the consistency that you like.  (Note* the garlic is not prevalent in this recipe; you may want add more garlic for your taste.)

Garnish with more olive oil, and serve with pita, crackers, and/or carrot sticks.
Store in the refrigerator, the hummus will be good for a week or so.
Left over hummus makes a terrific sandwich spread!
 

2 comments:

  1. Yum! I love hummus and your recipe sounds delicious! Your roasted vegetable salad sounded divine too. I'm following via rss. Thanks so much for stopping by Posed Perfection and leaving me a sweet comment about the caramel frosting. I hope you'll visit again.
    Blessings,
    Nici

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  2. I love hummus. I always make it to snack on with carrot sticks. I drizzle with extra olive oil and lemon juice and eat the whole bowl!

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